TORONTO — With the Warriors chasing wins, their two lottery picks have mostly avoided the spotlight. Instead the pair of 19 year olds have been able to work on their games in the privacy of practice and the shadows of Santa Cruz.
On Saturday, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody got a taste of the life of a typical top draft pick: all eyes on them and a supporting cast that didn’t feature any MVPs, NBA champions or any other accolades. Kuminga, who started for the first time and played 36 minutes, had been waiting for this moment.
“I knew I was going to get a lot of minutes since we didn’t have a lot of guys,” Kuminga said after the 119-100 loss. “There are days I come in and play and days I don’t play, and that’s just the learning lesson. … With that being said, I just come out here and play as hard as I can. I have to play hard for me to get those minutes because if I was going out there and I didn’t do what I need to do, (coach Steve Kerr) was going to take me out.”
With season-high 26 points to lead the Warriors, Kuminga became the youngest player in franchise history to score 20 or more and became the first Golden State player since Chris Wright in 2012 to contribute at least 25 in his first career start. But with six turnovers, he also played out of control at times and, despite his athleticism and 6-foot-11 wingspan, only grabbed a single rebound.
Thirty games in — seeing action in 20 of them, with no more than 18 minutes in any prior to Saturday — Kuminga said his rookie season has been full of ups and downs, and his performance Saturday acted as a microcosm of that. But with a couple high-flying dunks and his best shooting night of his young career, he also flashed his enormous potential.
“He kind of showed how talented he is, how young he is, how high his ceiling is and how far he has to go all in one night,” Kerr said. “JK’s a dynamic athlete. He’s powerful. He’s explosive. He can get downhill. So you see the potential.”
Moody earned his first start Friday against the Celtics, in place of Jordan Poole, who entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. He missed 12 of his 16 attempts from the field between the two games but finished Saturday with a career-high 11 points to go with eight rebounds.
“I’m capable of shooting the ball. So given that, just knowing I have that in my back pocket as a skill I’m pretty good at, I’m going to showcase that,” Moody said. “I’m anticipating the next one’s going to fall. Coach trusts in me, my teammates trust in me, and that’s what everybody’s really motivating me to do.”
All in all, it’s been a different rookie experience than their Raptors counterpart, Scottie Barnes, who was selected three picks ahead of Kuminga and was a high-school teammate of Moody’s at Monteverde (Fla.) Academy.
While Kuminga and Moody shuttle between San Francisco and Santa Cruz and average fewer than 10 NBA minutes per game, Barnes is making a case for rookie of the year with 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27 games — all starts — while averaging 36 minutes. But the Raptors, despite their win Saturday, are still scratching to find a .500 record.
The Warriors’ core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins have them off to a 24-6 start, their best record through 30 games since 2017-18. The hope is that Kuminga, Moody, Jordan Poole and James Wiseman can build on their success for another decade to come.
Without seeing the court much, Kuminga said he is left to “trust the process.”
“I feel like I’m in a good situation because I’m learning every single day,” he said. “The key is to just trust the process.”
Kuminga, who was shooting 2-for-17 from 3-point range entering Saturday, said his shot has been a focal point of practice. It’s clear that opposing scouting reports make note of his ability to get to the rim, but he showed another facet by knocking down four of his six 3-point attempts, even with a hand in his face.
For Kuminga to maximize his offensive potential, he has to make opponents respect him from beyond the 3-point line. That opens up more opportunities for the highlight-reel finishes at the rim, like the first-quarter dunk he had over Toronto’s Chris Boucher.
“In today’s game, to be a really top-level player, almost without exception, you have to be able to knock down perimeter shots,” Kerr said. “But I want him to recognize when to shoot, when to drive, when to pass. Those are all things that sound simple, but it’s not simple. The NBA game moves quickly. The only way you can figure that out is with a lot of reps.”
Kerr said it’s important for young players to establish an identity, but Kuminga clearly knows what he’s about.
“Most of the time my game is driving to the hoop,” Kuminga said. “But if they give me a lot of space, it’s going to make me want to shoot the ball. … Most of the time, a lot of teams are going to expect me to drive and do stuff like that. Especially the team we’ve got here, we play with a lot of spacing, so somebody kicks you the ball in the corner, you’ve got to stay ready and hit that 3.”
At only 19 years old, Kuminga has convinced Gary Payton II and many others of what he can eventually become.
“I can see him being an elite two-way player,” Payton said. “It’s just going to take time.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com